System and method for acquiring images

ABSTRACT

A vision system useful in acquiring images includes: a light dome having a window and a perimeter; an annular light curtain positioned within and radially inwardly from the perimeter of the light dome such that an annular gap is formed between the light dome and the light curtain; and a light ring positioned to illuminate the gap between the light dome and the light curtain. The light curtain and window are sized and positioned such that no direct light from the light ring reaches the window. The system further comprises a camera having a lens facing the window to acquire images of an object on a side of the window opposite the camera. The images acquired by the camera can then be compared to stored images to determine whether the identity of the objects (which may be pharmaceutical tablets) is as expected.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional application of and claims priority toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/623,878, filed Nov. 23, 2009 whichclaims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.61/118,014, filed Nov. 26, 2008, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed generally to the identification ofpharmaceuticals, and more particularly to the automatic identificationof dispensed pharmaceuticals.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There is an ongoing and predicted long-term shortage of licensedpharmacists. Due to the increasing age of the population and theever-increasing number of prescription medicines available, the demandfor prescription drugs is growing at rate that will far exceed thecapacity and numbers of licensed pharmacists. The net impact of thisimbalance is that pharmacists are increasingly spending more time doingclerical and administrative tasks such as verifying filled prescriptionsand checking data entry done by pharmacy technicians. Since the capacityof any one pharmacist is fixed, the output of a pharmacy has becomeconstrained. Consequently, the labor and total cost per prescriptioncontinues to rise. The December 2000 Department of Health and HumanServices Report to Congress titled “The Pharmacist Workforce: A Study ofthe Supply and Demand for Pharmacists”, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference, provides an overview of the above problem.

Due to these increased demands on a pharmacist's time, and the resultingincreased reliance on technicians and other non-professional staff tofill prescriptions, there is an increased chance for prescription error.While these errors may take many forms, the likelihood of a dangerous orlife threatening “adverse drug event” increases proportionally with theincreased chance of prescription fill error. Several studies have shownthat prescription error rates are consistently in the 2% to 7% range,with a 4% error rate often cited as a reliable average. The number ofdeaths due to medication errors is estimated to exceed 7,000 per year inthe United States alone. Of course, this number does not includenon-fatal conditions from drugs that also result in some form of traumaor injury. The resulting litigation costs associated with theseprescription fill errors have also dramatically increased.

Many existing pharmacy filling systems and procedures still require ahuman operator, whether that operator is a technician or a licensedpharmacist, to validate visually whether the drug that is delivered tothe customer is correct. Thus, the human factor can contribute to themajority of prescription fill errors. Existing visual verificationtechniques rely on comparing an electronic image of the prescribedmedication, i.e., a picture of the prescribed medication retrieved froma data library, with the actual medication that is dispensed for thepatient. Other systems and procedures rely on comparing the dispensedmedication with that in the original manufacturer's supply container, orcomparing an electronic image of the filled prescription with anelectronic image of the prescribed medication retrieved from a datalibrary.

Each of these verification systems present similar problems. First,these known verification methods assume that all drugs are visuallydistinct. This assumption causes many problems because many drugs arenot, in fact, visually distinct and, in other cases, the visualdifferences between drugs is very subtle. For instance, manufacturersare rapidly exhausting unique shapes, colors and sizes for their soliddosage form products. To further complicate the problem, generic drugmanufactures may be using shapes, colors, and sizes that are differentthan that of the original manufacturer. Second, even though some knownsystems may utilize a National Drug Code (NDC) bar code to verify thatthe supply bottle being accessed corresponds correctly to the patient'sprescription, a fraction of filled prescriptions that are never pickedup are returned to the supply shelves for reuse in later prescriptions.These reused bottles will not, therefore, have a manufacturer's bar codeon them. It is, therefore, difficult, if not impossible, to incorporatesuch validation schemes for these unused prescriptions. Furthermore, inthese circumstances, a supply bottle is not available for a visualcomparison with the filled prescription. Finally, each of these knownmanual verification and validation techniques typically requires thatthe pharmacist spend a significant portion of his day performing theseadministrative or clerical tasks and allows less time for patientconsultation and other professional pharmacist activities.

Many solid dosage pills tend to have visually distinct features. Asdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,535,637 to Wootton, the disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference, one vision-based systemtakes an image of the dispensed pills and processes the image to obtaina set of characteristic features of the pill. These features may includethe coloration, shape, size, and any surface features of the pills.These features are then automatically compared with those of all thepills which can be dispensed by a dispensing apparatus. If a pill can beuniquely identified as the correct pill, the container of pills isaccepted. Otherwise, the container is rejected. If, as a result of theprocessing, a determination cannot be made, the container isprovisionally rejected and is subsequently inspected by a pharmacist todetermine if the prescription is correctly filled.

Because in many pharmacies throughput of prescriptions is important, itmay be desirable to increase the speed of analysis. This may be possibleby analyzing a filled, capped container rather than an uncappedcontainer such as that disclosed in Wootton. However, manypharmaceutical containers are transparent with an amber color. The ambercoloration of the vial can tint the pills in the vial when an image istaken through the wall of the vial, thereby providing an inaccuratecolor for the image. Also, because multiple types of vials are used inpharmaceutical dispensing, the degree of amber coloration may differfrom vial to vial. Further, in some instances different colors of vials(e.g., red, green, blue) may be used. It may be desirable to addresssome of these issues to provide a vision-based discrimination systemthat can operate on a filled, capped vial.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

As a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention are directed toa vision system that may be useful in acquiring images. The imagingsystem comprises: a light dome having a window and a perimeter; anannular light curtain positioned within and radially inwardly from theperimeter of the light dome such that an annular gap is formed betweenthe light dome and the light curtain; and a light ring positioned toilluminate the gap between the light dome and the light curtain. Thelight curtain and window are sized and positioned such that no directlight from the light ring reaches the window. The system furthercomprises a camera having a lens facing the window to acquire images ofan object on a side of the window opposite the camera. The imagesacquired by the camera can then be compared to stored images todetermine whether the identity of the objects (which may bepharmaceutical tablets) is as expected.

As a second aspect, embodiments of the present invention are directed toa method of acquiring an image of objects within a transparent, coloredcontainer. The method comprises: determining the expected identity ofthe objects in the container; selecting a light color based on theexpected identity; illuminating the container and the objects thereinwith light of the selected color; and acquiring an image of the objectswithin the container.

As a third aspect, embodiments of the present invention are directed toa method of acquiring an image of objects within a transparent, coloredcontainer, comprising: detecting the RGB values of the color of thecontainer; automatically determining the inverse RGB values of the colorof the container; illuminating the container and the objects thereinwith light having substantially the inverse RGB values of the color ofthe container; and acquiring an image of the objects within thecontainer.

As a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present invention are directed toa method of acquiring an image of objects within a transparent, coloredcontainer, comprising: detecting the RGB values of the color of thecontainer; manually determining the inverse RGB values of the color ofthe container; illuminating the container and the objects therein withlight having substantially the inverse RGB values of the color of thecontainer; and acquiring an image of the objects within the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an automated pharmaceuticalverification system that includes a vision system according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the vision system of the pharmaceuticalverification system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side section view of the vision system of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a side section view of the vision system of FIG. 2 showing avision compartment within the pharmaceutical verification system of FIG.1 containing a vial.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter, inwhich preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This inventionmay, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construedas limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to thoseskilled in the art. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elementsthroughout. Thicknesses and dimensions of some components may beexaggerated for clarity.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein the expression“and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items.

In addition, spatially relative terms, such as “under”, “below”,“lower”, “over”, “upper,” “front,” “rear” and the like, may be usedherein for ease of description to describe one element or feature'srelationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in thefigures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms areintended to encompass different orientations of the device in use oroperation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. Forexample, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements describedas “under” or “beneath” other elements or features would then beoriented “over” the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term“under” can encompass both an orientation of over and under. The devicemay be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations)and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpretedaccordingly.

Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail forbrevity and/or clarity.

Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1 illustrates a pharmaceuticalverification system 120 according to embodiments of the presentinvention. The system 120 includes a vial loading station 121, bar codescanning or RFID reading station 122, a vision station 124, aspectroscopy station 126, a stamping station 128, and an offload stationlocated underneath the vial loading station 121 (not visible in FIG. 1).Vials are moved between these stations with a sliding conveyor 139adjacent the bar code scanning station and a wheel conveyor (not shown).A controller 200 controls the operation of the various stations and theconveyor. The operation of the system 120 is described in greater detailin co-pending and co-assigned U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.No. 61/118,006, filed Nov. 26, 2008, and U.S. patent application Ser.No. ______, entitled ______ and filed concurrently (Attorney Docket No.9335-71), the disclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated hereinin its entirety.

Turning now to FIGS. 2 and 3, an imaging system for use in the visionstation 124, designated broadly at 10, is shown therein. The system 10includes a camera 12, a light ring 22, a light curtain 26, and a lightdome 32. Each of these components is described in greater detail below.

The camera 12 can be any camera that is suitable for the acquisition ofdigital images. An exemplary camera 12 is Model No. Lw570C, availablefrom Lumenera Corp., Ottawa, Canada. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, thecamera 12 is mounted such that its lens 14 faces upwardly from its body13. A sleeve 16 rests on the upper surface of the body 13 andcircumferentially surrounds the lens 14. The sleeve 16 includesradially-extending tabs 18 that are used to mount the sleeve 16 to thecamera 12, and also includes two flanges 20 that extend radially fromdiametrically opposed sections of the upper edge of the sleeve 16.

Referring still to FIGS. 2 and 3, the light ring 22 has a generallyannular and planar body portion 21. Tabs 25 extend radially fromdiametrically opposed sections of the body portion 21 and are used toprovide mounting locations for the light ring 22 on top of the sleeve16. A series of light emitting diodes (LEDs) 24 are mounted on the uppersurface of the body portion 21. The LEDs 24 are alternatingred/green/blue (RGB) LEDs that produce corresponding RGB wavelengthsusing a conventional RGB color scheme to produce white light. The LEDs24 are adjustable in intensity, such that the intensity of red, greenand/or blue light can be varied. As such, the color of light emanatingfrom the light ring 22 can be adjusted as desired. Intensity andwavelength levels of red, green and blue light that can be employed toproduce a particular shade of light are known to those of skill in thisart and need not be detailed herein.

Referring again to FIGS. 2 and 3, the light curtain 26 includes anannular inner wall 28 and a concentric outer wall 30. A beveled surface29 (FIG. 3) joins the lower edges of the inner and outer walls 28, 30. Aradial lip 31 extends outwardly from the outer wall 30 and rests on theinner edge of the body portion 21 of the light ring 22. This placementof the lip 31 positions the outer wall 30 radially inward of the LEDs24. The inner wall 28 is positioned above and generally axially alignedwith the lens 14 of the camera 12.

Still referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the light dome 32 is generallybowl-shaped, with a dome wall 35 having an opening 38 in its upperportion and a perimeter 37 at its lower edge. A clear glass window 40fills the opening 38. Flanges 34 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 2)extend radially outwardly from diametrically opposed sections of thelower edge of the dome wall 35 and align with the flanges 20 of thesleeve 16 and the tabs 25 of the light ring 22. Fasteners can beinserted through the flanges 34, the tabs 25 and the flanges 20 tofasten the light dome 32, the light ring 22, and the sleeve 16 together.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the inner surface 36 of the dome wall 35 andthe outer wall 30 of the light curtain 26 form an annular gap 41 throughwhich light from the LEDs 24 can pass. The dome wall 35 has sufficientcurvature that the edges of the window 40 are radially inward of theupper edges of the outer wall 30; as a result, light from the LEDs 24cannot shine directly onto the window 40. Also, the inner surface 36 istypically formed of an anti-glare material or treated with an anti-glarecoating (such as a flat white paint) to reduce or minimize specularreflection and/or increase or maximize diffuse reflection.

Turning now to FIG. 4, the system 10 will ordinarily be employed with achamber, such as chamber 60, in which resides the object (in thisinstance a pharmaceutical vial 42) for imaging. The chamber 60 istypically light-tight, such that the only appreciable light entering thechamber 60 enters through the window 40. In some embodiments, thechamber 60 will include a trap door or cover that allows the insertionof the object into the chamber but closes to prevent light fromentering.

Referring back to FIG. 1, a controller 200 is connected to the camera 12and the light ring 22. The controller 200 includes a memory 52 (eitherlocal or remote) that has stored image data for multiple pharmaceuticaltablets. The controller 200 also has a processor 54 that enables animage taken by the camera 12 to be compared to the stored image data todetermine whether one or more visual features or attributes of thedispensed pharmaceutical match a pharmaceutical stored in the memory 52.

In operation, as shown in FIG. 4 a vial 42 (typically a capped vial)containing a dispensed pharmaceutical is deposited in the chamber 60 andrests with its lower end on the window 40. The controller 200 activatesthe LEDs 24 of the light ring 22. Light from the LEDs 24 travels throughthe gap 41 to the inner surface 36 of the dome wall 35. However, becauseof the location of the outer wall 30 of the light curtain 26 and theposition of the window 40, none of the light from the LED reaches thewindow 40 directly; instead, light reaching the window 40 (and, in turn,the vial 42 and the tablets residing therein) is indirect light, whichproduces little to no glare. This indirect light illuminates the vial 42and tablets sufficiently for an image to be taken with the camera 12.The controller 200 then stores the image for subsequent processing,comparison to a known image, and/or other tasks.

It should be noted that, due to the adjustable nature of the LEDs 24 ofthe light ring 22, the color of light illuminating the vial 42 andtablets can be selected for advantageous imaging. For example, asdiscussed in co-pending and co-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/249,402, filed Oct. 10, 2008, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated herein by reference, images of tablets contained in atransparent amber-colored vial and acquired through the wall of the vialmay exhibit substantially the same color as the tablets themselves whenthe vial is illuminated with light of a “reverse” color. As discussed indetail in the cited patent application, a “reverse” color is one thatuses reciprocal values for red, green and blue in an RGB system. The useof light that is the reverse color of a transparent amber vial (e.g., abluish hue for an amber vial) can enable images of objects in the vial,wherein the images are acquired through the walls of the vial, toexhibit the same color as the objects would exhibit without the vial.Thus, the LEDs 24 of the light ring 22 can be adjusted to produce lighthaving a “reverse” color to that of the vial (again, as an example, abluish light for an amber-colored vial).

In one embodiment, the light color can be determined by first taking animage of the vial 42 with the camera 12. A histogram of that image canbe produced. The inverse color of the histogram can then be determined,and the controller 200 can, through the LEDs 24 of the light ring 22,generate light of the inverse color.

In other embodiments, a sensor (not shown) may be included in the visionsystem 10 to detect the color of the vial 42. The sensor can transmitsignals regarding the color of the vial 42 to the controller 200, whichthen induces the LEDs 24 of the light ring 22 to produce light of a“reverse” color to that of the vial 42. In such an embodiment, thesystem 10 can “tune” the light emitted from the LEDs 24 to account fordifferently-colored vials or variations in color due to differentmanufacturers, different lots, or the like.

Also, in some embodiments, the controller 200 may, in view of theidentity of the prescribed pharmaceutical labeled on the vial (typicallyin bar code form), adjust the light produced by the LEDs 24 of the lightring 22 to a color that is particularly advantageous for distinguishingthe prescribed pharmaceutical from a similar pharmaceutical. Thus, inthose embodiments the color of the light may be one that is notsubstantially the reverse color of the vial, but is advantageous fordetection of the particular pharmaceutical in the particular vial bymost greatly enhancing the differences from the similar pharmaceutical.

Those skilled in this art will appreciate that color schemes other thanRGB may be employed. In addition, in some embodiments electromagneticradiation outside of the visible light range, such as ultraviolet orinfrared, may also be employed.

The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to beconstrued as limiting thereof. Although exemplary embodiments of thisinvention have been described, those skilled in the art will readilyappreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplaryembodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings andadvantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications areintended to be included within the scope of this invention. Thefollowing claims are provided to ensure that the present applicationmeets all statutory requirements as a priority application in alljurisdictions and shall not be construed as setting forth the scope ofthe invention.

1. A method of acquiring an image of objects within a transparent,colored container, comprising: determining an expected identity of theobjects in the container; selecting a light color based on the expectedidentity; illuminating the container and the objects therein with lightof the selected color; and acquiring an image of the objects within thecontainer.
 2. The method defined in claim 1, comprising the furthersteps of: comparing the image acquired in the acquiring step with astored image corresponding to the expected identity of the objects; anddetermining whether the acquired image matches the stored image.
 3. Themethod defined in claim 1, wherein transparent, colored container is acapped pharmaceutical vial, and wherein the objects are pharmaceuticaltablets.
 4. The method defined in claim 2, wherein the pharmaceuticalvial is of an amber color.
 5. The method defined in claim 4, wherein theselected color is a bluish hue.
 6. The method defined in claim 1,wherein the selected color is not substantially the inverse RGB color ofthe RGB color of the colored container.
 7. The method defined in claim1, wherein the step of illuminating the container comprises illuminatingthe container with indirect light.
 8. A method of acquiring an image ofobjects within a transparent, colored container, comprising: detectingthe RGB values of the color of the container; automatically determiningthe inverse RGB values of the color of the container; illuminating thecontainer and the objects therein with light having substantially theinverse RGB values of the color of the container; and acquiring an imageof the objects within the container.
 9. The method defined in claim 8,wherein the container is a capped pharmaceutical vial, and the objectsin the container are pharmaceutical tablets.
 10. The method defined inclaim 9, wherein color of the container is amber, and the color of theilluminating light is a bluish hue.
 11. The method defined in claim 8,wherein the detecting step comprises acquiring an image of thecontainer.
 12. The method defined in claim 11, wherein the automaticallydetermining step comprises producing a histogram of the image of thecontainer and determining the inverse RGB values of the histogram. 13.The method defined in claim 8, wherein the step of illuminating thecontainer comprises illuminating the container with indirect light. 14.A method of acquiring an image of objects within a transparent, coloredcontainer, comprising: detecting the RGB values of the color of thecontainer; manually determining the inverse RGB values of the color ofthe container; illuminating the container and the objects therein withlight having substantially the inverse RGB values of the color of thecontainer; and acquiring an image of the objects within the container.15. The method defined in claim 14, wherein the container is a cappedpharmaceutical vial, and the objects in the container are pharmaceuticaltablets.
 16. The method defined in claim 15, wherein color of thecontainer is amber, and the color of the illuminating light is a bluishhue.
 17. The method defined in claim 14, wherein the detecting stepcomprises acquiring an image of the container.
 18. The method defined inclaim 14, wherein the step of illuminating the container comprisesilluminating the container with indirect light.